An electrical connector comprises a housing with electrically conductive terminals therein. Each terminal is electrically connected or terminated to a conductor in a wire. The electrical connector housing includes opposed forward and rear ends. The forward end is constructed to mate with the housing of another connector, such that the terminals in the respective housings mate with one another and provide electrical connection therebetween. The opposed rear end of the electrical connector housing defines the portion from which the wires extend.
Many electrical connectors are employed in environments where forces may be exerted on the wires extending from the rear end. These forces can damage the electrical termination of the wires to the terminals in the housing Electrical connectors with a large number of wires are particularly susceptible to having, damaged electrical terminations within the connector housing. For example, wires from one connector may tangle with wires from other connectors such that the movement of any one connector may damage the termination of wires in other connectors. The tangling of wires also can make the tracing of wires during troubleshooting operations difficult to achieve. Also accessibiity to a connector latching system is increased with wires which are bundled together at the connector housing rear end.
Prior art electrical connectors have employed covers, boots or the like on the rear end of the connector housing to orient or dress the wires. Some prior art wire dress covers define a unitary member having an aperture through which the plurality of wires pass. Covers of this type generally are effective, but complicate the termination and assembly process. More particularly, the cover may have to be mounted over the wires prior to termination and prior to inserting the terminated wires into the housing. Repairs or replacement of damaged or defective leads after termination and insertion is similarly complicated by the need to extract one lead from the aperture in the cover and insert another lead therethrough. This is particularly difficult if the cover tightly engages the wires to contribute to either sealing or strain relief.
The prior art further includes wire covers that can be mounted to the connector after termination and after proper seating of the terminals in the connector. These prior art connectors have included a unitary cover effectively defining a channel mounted to the rear end of the electrical connector housing. Examples of such prior art connectors are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,330 which issued to Chandler on Dec. 19, 1978; U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,463 which issued to Chandler on July 8, 1980; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,803 which issued to McKee et al. on July 29, 1980. Other prior art connectors have included multi-component housings including a plurality of components for engaging the wires passing into the electrical connector housing. A prior art connector of this general type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,376 which issued to Cosmos et al. on Dec. 20, 1983 and European Patent Publication No. 0 080 813 to McCleerey which was published on Mar. 26, 1986.
These prior art covers generally require separate means for engaging the cover around the wires or retaining the cover to the housing. The mounting of these prior art covers to the rear end of the connector housings has not been well-suited to automated manufacturing processes. Furthermore, the prior art covers generally have required an initially manual gathering of the wires prior to mounting of the cover. The prior art covers also have been difficult to remove from the electrical connector housing to which they are mounted. In particular, in most instances, it has been necessary to first remove the separate mounting means from the housing and subsequently disengaging the cover. Most of these prior art covers have not been constructed to provide significant structural protection for the rear end of the electrical connector, and particularly the wires extending therefrom.
In view of the above, it is an object of the subject invention to provide a wire dress cover for efficient lockable mounting to the rear end of an electrical connector housing.
It is another object of the subject invention to provide a wire dress cover that can readily be removed from the electrical connector housing.
A further object of the subject invention is to provide an assembly of components including an electrical connector housing and wire dress cover mountable thereto.
An additional object of the subject invention is to provide a hermaphroditic assembly of wire dress cover shells for cooperating with one another and with an electrical connector housing to gather and protect wires extending from the rear end of the housing.
Yet another object of the subject invention is to provide a wire dress cover which can be mounted to an electrical connector housing in more than one orientation.
Still a further object of the subject invention is to provide a wire dress cover and electrical connector housing that are well suited to automated assembly.